Lahti Symphony / Bergen Philharmonic, 15-16.8.07

First there was Gustavo Dudamel's Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra playing a rapturous Mahler 5 in an acoustic test at the then not-yet-opened Royal Festival Hall, and now two months later we've had visits from two Scandinavian orchestras on consecutive days at the Proms. So for those interested in Scandinavian music and musicians, happy days. Members of the invited audience for Dudamel's concert on 2 June were forbidden from commenting on the concert in public arenas, but now it's probably safe to say that the 25-year-old Venezuelan presided over a performance of incredible maturity, direction and intellectual sense: the prospects posed by his future career for once live up to the hype of the press releases. He becomes Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the national orchestra of Sweden, this autumn (and Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009), and I can feel the Scandinavian Airways loyalty card beckoning already...

Back to real time, and Osmo Vänskä's Lahti Symphony Orchestra playing an all-Sibelius programme on Wednesday night, in this the 50th year since the composer's death. Vänskä has led the orchestra for over twenty years, putting it on the musical map in the process (though Lahti still seems uncannily tricky to find on the actual map - apparently it's some miles north of Helsinki). The Lahti Symphony certainly has a singular approach to this music, both in concert and on record, and Sibelius's Seventh seemed even more concise than usual - at its opening brisk, angular and breezy rather than lingering and retrospective. That said, the Lahti strings found genuine atmosphere in the first movement, conjuring an icy, opaque northern feel to their impassioned climax that seemed hewn from Finnish granite. The silhouetted solos from the trombone and thereafter other brass were also quite different and somehow un-romanticised - certainly a refreshing view of Sibelius, or is this how we should hear his music all the time?

On Thursday Norway's Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra marked the 100th year since the death of Edvard Grieg, who was born in Bergen in 1843. This is a more globalised ensemble than the Lahti - the personnel list included a smattering of Anglophile names, players that Music Director Andrew Litton may well have coaxed from his previous ensembles in Bournemouth and Dallas on the promise of clean, mountainous air and a beautiful lifestyle. And with New-Yorker Litton at the helm, the orchestra's sound was distinctly more globalised - or dare one say American - too. There weren't the introspective and opaque qualities of the Lahti players, but rather a sound that was full-on, almost brash; seriously impressive nonetheless though. In Grieg's Piano Concerto and Funeral March for Rikard Nordraak the quality of every orchestral section was apparent - particularly the low strings and brass who played with fine blend and intuition. But a layer of American gloss seems to have fallen with Litton's leadership - 'Norway' and 'Grieg' aren't at its heart in quite the same way as 'Finland' and 'Sibelius' are with the Lahti ensemble.

Boris Berezovsky was a delightfully understated soloist in the Grieg - his glissandi sensitive, smooth and atmospheric - but communication suffered at times and there was the occasional lapse in piano-orchestra ensemble. The soloists who joined the Lahti the night before deserve a special mention. Firstly double-bass player Petri Lehto, who stepped up to sing the tenor role of Trinculo in Sibelius's incidental music for The Tempest before returning to his stool to continue on the bass. Quite extraordinary - and if it weren't for his evident talent in both roles it might have seemed like amateur night.

Then there was soprano Helena Juntunen, who sang Juno in The Tempest before turning to a selection of Sibelius's orchestral songs after the interval. Clearly Juntunen was relishing her first appearance at the Proms, and the audience was similarly enthralled by her excitable outward gaze and frank, athlete-like preparation before each song. Her voice has a particular light and agile quality, and she immediately conjured an atmosphere from the opening phrase of Hostkvall (Autumn Night). But it's her poise sets her apart - she has an unpresumptuous yet striking stage presence, and here injected her performances with character; never patronising her audience or over-egging the drama of her delivery. For a country of 5 million, Finland has produced a staggering number of exceptional conductors and soloists, many of whom are active all over Europe and beyond - at the Proms and with UK orchestras in particular. Let's hope Helena Juntunen joins their ranks before too long, and gets the chance to capture the imagination of a UK audience with her peculiar Nordic charm. Otherwise it really will be Scandinavian Airlines to the rescue... 

Andrew Mellor